A fuel allowance of €9 per week is payable to eligible households during a 29-week winter heating period from end-September to mid-April each year. An additional €3.90 per week is payable in the designated urban smokeless fuel zones.
As announced in the recent budget, the rate of fuel allowance will be increased by €5 with effect from January 2006. This increase will bring the basic fuel allowance up to €14 per week while the rate for recipients in designated smokeless areas will increase to €17.90.
The numbers qualifying for the fuel allowance scheme for the years 2000 to 2005 are set out in the following Table 1.
Table 1: Numbers receiving a standard fuel allowance, smokeless fuel supplement 2000 to 2005
Year
|
Standard Fuel Allowance
|
Smokeless supplement
|
|
Nos.
|
Nos.
|
2000
|
270,000
|
109,000
|
2001
|
265,000
|
108,000
|
2002
|
259,000
|
115,000
|
2003
|
270,000
|
118,000
|
2004
|
272,000
|
121,000
|
2005
|
274,000
|
123,000
|
My Department does not have statistics on the number of recipients of the fuel allowance broken down by social welfare scheme for the last five years. However, details on the current fuel allowance recipients by social welfare category is given in Table 2.
Table 2.
Category
|
Number with Fuel Allowance
|
Number with Fuel as % of total number in category
|
|
|
%
|
Old Age Pensioners:
|
79,000
|
26
|
Widowed:
|
50,000
|
40
|
Invalidity / Disability:
|
47,000
|
20
|
Lone Parent /Deserted:
|
51,000
|
56
|
Other Welfare Schemes:
|
47,000
|
23
|
Total:
|
274,000
|
|